In Silence
by vigilantism
Summary: Written for springkink @ lj. Prompt was Chad/Ishida, silent communication - one moment of silence can say more than a thousand words.


The daylight was fading, slowly. Ishida had considered not even coming here, but after what Urahara had said, there was no way that even he could refuse. Kurosaki didn't count as a Shinigami if Soul Society refused him help. He wasn't _from_ Soul Society, after all.

Anyway, he'd have gone on his own to save Inoue without a second thought. There was never a question of _that_. She didn't count as a Shinigami _or_ one of their allies. She was important to him, and Kurosaki be damned.

All things considered, however, it was probably better that they all go together. Two heads, and all that.

He had gotten a rundown of the entire situation from Urahara, though he'd only been half-listening. His mind was preoccupied with a million other things. So Aizen Sousuke intended to destroy Karakura? Well, not as long as he was alive to defend it. Not as long as the people he'd come to think of as friends were alive to defend it with him. But for now, the number one thing was to get Inoue back from the Arrancar. Going into Hueco Mundo...that prospect felt a bit like standing before the gates of Hell themselves. But there was no question for any of them.

If only Kurosaki would hurry up and get there. Ishida frowned, thinking about him. He was always the last one to clue in, so why was it so annoying that he wasn't there yet?

Ishida pushed his glasses up for about the hundredth time in the past hour and adjusted the collar of his shirt. His hand lingered there for a minute as he thought about the scar underneath. He'd have to be careful not to let any of them see it; there were some things they were better off not knowing.

He felt Sado come up behind him long before he actually turned and looked at him.

In the fading light, the taller boy looked almost as if he was shining, surrounded by the glow of the setting sun. Ishida let his hand fall, finally, and watched Sado turn, just slightly, and walk toward him.

 _I hadn't expected you to be here._

 _Of course I'm here._

They didn't say anything to each other, though their eyes locked. The silence was louder and more poignant than anything either of them could have said. They hadn't spoken at school since they'd returned from Soul Society, each of them bearing scars that couldn't be seen. Inoue and the Fourth Division of Seireitei had healed all their physical wounds, but there were so many others. And they were going to incur more before all of this was over. And they would endure it, not because they had to, but because they'd _chosen_ to.

That was what nakama were for. Even Ishida, distanced from them as he had purposefully become, could admit that much. He could feel it, feel the invisible chains that bound them together, the chains that would bring Inoue back to them. Hell wasn't too much to risk. Nothing would have been.

Ishida turned away again and stared into the distance. Annoyance passed over his features again. Kurosaki was taking too long.

Sado felt his discomfort and moved closer. He placed a hand on the Quincy's shoulder. Without thought, Ishida reached up and entwined his fingers with Sado's. Their reiatsu sparked slightly, as he had known it would, and settled.

There was strength here. Strength, to counteract all the danger. He'd gotten his Quincy powers back, and they were increased exponentially. He could feel new strength in Sado, as well. He'd felt it before they touched, of course, but with their fingers interlocked, it was unmistakable. He wondered what Kurosaki would feel like, when he joined them. It wasn't a thought he would have let himself acknowledge, normally, but these days things were hardly _normal_.

He didn't know why he turned and moved into the taller boy's arms, but he did it anyway. There wasn't a need for thought, for reason. They were nakama, weren't they? They were beyond the need to overanalyze everything. This was just the way it _was_.

The embrace was brief, but there was strength _there_ , as well. How he'd ever thought he could do any of this alone, he had no idea. It was clear to him, standing there with Sado, that there was no _need_ to go it alone.

The silence was deafening around them, and he enjoyed it. It wouldn't last long, because nothing ever did. But for now, they could stand here together, back to having only their hands touching, and wait for Kurosaki to come. He would break the silence, and they would leave together.

That was their normalcy, in the end, wasn't it? When it was all over, they would bear the scars together even more than they already did. All they needed, in the end, would be her to complete the circle, to make _everything_ complete.

Together, there was no way they could lose. Even for Ishida, the most important promises...were the unspoken ones.


End file.
